Question: How does a single gal eat on a journalist's income?
Answer: Quite well, actually!
Last year when Brian and I decided to quit drinking, we sat down and seriously rethought what we were putting in our bodies, from processed foods full of preservatives to fast foods full of grease and lord knows what else. We spent a night ritualistically pouring bottles of half-consumed wine and liquor down the sink drain, then gave the rest of it to my brother for his 21st birthday. (You can imagine the look of "jackpot!" on his face!)
Tonight when I went grocery shopping, I kept that same spirit of "cut out the excess" in mind. I stocked up on food that I knew I could maintain a healthy mealplan with, since I get bored REALLY easily with my groceries and resort to snacking a lot during my work day. The food pictured above is just the pretty boxes...I also loaded up on some boring looking vegetables, fresh fruit, dairy, etc. Tonight's dinner was Indian Fare Palak Paneer with a tall glass of cold chai, and it was BEAUTIFUL. :)
As I was checking out, I swiped my card and walked around to the cashier side of the stand to help bag my groceries. It's a natural habit of mine, since my job in college was Trader Joe's and I enjoy helping move the line faster. The awkwardly younger cashier looked at me in surprise.
"Wow, thanks for helping ma'am," he said.
"No problem. I worked at #101 during college, it's a fun job!" I replied, referring to the store number of the Fairfield location.
"Oh cool, where do you go to school?" he asked. I paused, not understanding the question.
"No, I already graduated, from SF State in 2006," I answered. His eyebrows flew up under his messy floppy hair.
"You don't LOOK like a college graduate!" he exclaimed. I started cracking up, because I think he meant it as a compliment but it ended up sounding ridiculous.
Are college graduates supposed to look all old and mature and grown up? Should I have been wearing a pashmina and glass bead earrings and Birkenstocks? The possibilities for his interpretation of a college grad's appearance are endless. I thanked him for his help, and if I hadn't already known he couldn't accept tips, I would have left him a big one. :)
2 comments:
That lemon tart looks amazing...
atta girl for the healthy kick. I have kicked up my healthy cooking by checking out Cooking Light mags. Their recipes show variations and add in spices to kick it up a notch--nothing too crazy, but the use of balsamic vinegar to bring out flavors, etc.
I was a cashier in college, too. And to this day, I always bag my own groceries. I bemoan when people watch the food pile up, then wait to pull out their wallet, find the right card, and then watch the cashier bag the groceries. Kudos, babe.
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